Make Safety Seen While Busting Safety Myths

We are incredibly proud of our employees and all of the work they do to bring our state-of-the-art fibre network to entire communities across the UK. The Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) team in particular play a crucial role in delivering on our mission by keeping our employees safe, but also our build partners and the communities we serve. Last month we celebrated International Women in Engineering Day, and in honour of this we caught up with 3 of our “safety-warriors”; Chinyere, Laura and Megan. We asked them about working in this area, the myths they’d like to bust and how they #MakeSafetySeen.

While Megan started as a Health and Safety Apprentice at 17 after being encouraged by her father, Chinyere completed a master’s degree in Health, Safety and Environmental Management. Laura made the internal move from compliance to become a SHE Advisor, after working closely with the SHE team.

What’s the first myth you’d like to bust?

Megan: “When people think about safety, they often picture a person in high-vis, hard hat, clipboard, a red pen, and lots of red tape? The fun police? It’s a common myth and one we couldn’t be happier to bust because it just isn’t like that!”

Laura: “I didn’t really think about working in construction or telecommunications as it was a predominantly a man’s world. Growing up I never really entertained the thought. But working in the office and seeing a lot of women within the SHE team sparked a thought. There is a place for women and this is a role I’d really like to do. I had put up barriers for myself initially that I couldn’t be in this world. But, when I opened my eyes, I saw that there are so many opportunities.”

So, it’s becoming more diverse. But can safety be captivating?

Chinyere: “I’d say it’s a myth that safety is dull! The truth is what keeps people here is a common goal and passion: having real opportunities to make a big difference to the lives of others.”

First and foremost, our SHE team is here to keep people safe and ensure everyone goes home fit and well each day. Not just without any injuries, but also without any prolonged medical conditions that may impact their future. Our team has continuously been recognised for the incredible work they do by winning Gold at industry awards like RoSPA.

Education plays a key role in helping to achieve this every single day. SHE Advisors empower and educate employees on Health and Safety, ensuring they have all the information and knowledge to make the right decisions.

Megan: “Working in Health and Safety means you get to have a big impact. I’m not only impacting how many houses we connect, but I’m also impacting the image of our company and people’s personal lives. How people go to work, come away from work and feel at work. If they feel safe at work, I’ve done my job.”

Is Health and Safety about having a static set of rules to follow?

Chinyere: “Promoting Health and Safety is a long-term commitment. Transforming behaviours and attitudes requires a continuous improvement approach. It also requires patience, coaching, and guidance. It takes a keen eye, effective relationship building, and strong interpersonal skills to initiate and sustain such change. It’s incredibly rewarding to witness the impact of providing that support. In my perspective, Health and Safety holds a significant importance in any business, and the presence of a robust safety culture, greatly impacts the ability of a business to accomplish its objectives.”

At CityFibre, we believe in ensuring our teams are reflective of the communities we serve. A key part of this is allyship provided by leadership and our Employee Resource Groups. Our SHE team is headed up by Alan Trueman, who is empowering each and every individual to bring their true self to work. Here’s what he had to say on building a successful and supportive SHE team.

Alan Trueman, Head of SHE, CityFibre: “It’s really important to our success to have diversity within the team, and especially within Safety it’s important to not operate within the ‘echo chamber’. A team of people with the same background and experiences will often have a similar view on things. By encouraging cognitive diversity, this allows us to leverage experience and knowledge from people of all backgrounds and circumstances, ensuring we leave no stone unturned in respect of potential improvements within Safety, Health and Environment”.

Is it hard to find a role in this field without lots of qualifications?

There’s never been a better time to think about a career in Safety, Health and Environment. The shift in desire for a qualifications and ‘on the tools’ experience only has made space for some of the softer skills, like relationship building. A career in SHE means meeting all kinds of people, and positively impacting your community.

Take a look at the variety of roles at cityfibre.com/careers.